


Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley Isnt Bad? And Neither is Draco Malfoy?

by LaTongyModaFokas



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 6th year, Abusive Lucius Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore is a Prick, Basically the Silver Trio as well as the Golden Trio Friendships, Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini Frienship, Draco Malfoy has Never Been Hugged, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Is Gay, Good Dudley Dursley, Good Slytherins, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter is Obsessed with Draco Malfoy, Harry has support, He lives with Harry at the Dursleys each summer since third year, Lucius Malfoy Being an Asshole, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Narcissa tries, Redeemed Dudley Dursley, Remus visits Harry, Severus Snape is So Done, Sirius Black is a Good Parent, Sirius is Harry's support animal, Sort of? - Freeform, Touched Starved Draco Malfoy, and snape is done with it, but its not good enough, idk what the fuck to write for the tags anymore, including Ron, maybe ace Neville, okay?, parent figure?, remus and sirius help each other, seriously, we'll see, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaTongyModaFokas/pseuds/LaTongyModaFokas
Summary: Harry Potter hadn't had the best of childhoods, that much is known. However, his godfather, Sirius Black, has been staying with him at the Dursleys since his Third Year at Hogwarts. Even Remus visited from time to time. The best part? He stayed in his animagus form, which just so happened to be a big, black, terrifying dog. The previous year at Hogwarts had been hell since Umbridge had taken over the school. This year Dumbledore was back and Harry looked forward to this year without Umbridge being there to torment him, but as we all know, he's Harry Potter. Fate, it seems isn't very fond of him. Although through all the bad, it seems that fate had taken pity on the poor boy it has inflicted so much pain on and gave him something that he's been craving all his life. Love. Albeit, it does come unexpectedly. Not only that, but he also finds friendship in a person he thought had no heart, or brain, for that matter. Dudley Dursley was actually a cool bloke after all.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 31
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this fic is a wild ride. A LOT is going on. There's Drarry, and Wolfstar, and Slytherin-Gryffindor friendships, and just so much shit. The first couple of Chapters of this fic will be focusing on and exploring a friendship Harry and Dudley develop in the summer before Harry's 6th Year at Hogwarts. The first couple of chapters will be based on a Tumblr post that I saw on Instagram by miswrit. People added on to it, and it gave me this idea for a fic. I posted in the comments I was thinking of writing it, and some people wanted to read it, so this is for you. I am aware you didn't ask for Drarry or any of the other extra shit I'm writing, so if you want to read the first chapters where I write based on the Tumblr post and stop reading after that, that's absolutely fine. Also, I'll admit this chapter is a bit boring and not that well written. Oh well. I never claimed to be a competent or even good writer. Just a girl with a keyboard and ideas.

Harry Potter did not like the Dursleys. Not one little bit. However, the past three years had been bearable thanks to Sirius' company as a dog. Of course, the Dursleys didn't like Sirius, almost as much as Sirius didn't like them, but they couldn't do anything about it. Harry still remembered how Sirius had nipped at Uncle Vernon's hand when he tried to kick him out, and Vernon had yelped. Harry had laughed so hard at Vernon's enraged, purple face. When Vernon tried to hit him for laughing, Sirius jumped on him and growled viciously to save him, and discouraging Vernon from ever trying again. 

Uncle Vernon had even called the pound, but Sirius had left and then come back when they were gone, which Harry found too humourous. The only one that seemed to not have a problem at all, strangely enough, was Dudley. He barely even talked to Harry at all, unless he had to. Which was completely fine, mind you. Dudley had changed a lot over the years. He'd thinned out, and ate a lot less. He even worked out and didn't ask for more than two gifts anymore. He didn't seem like a total prick, so that was something. He still didn't usually acknowledge Harry very much. Not more than a casual head nod upon entering the room, which is more than he'd got in the first thirteen years of his life. 

All these changes had happened when Harry was gone for his Fourth Year at Hogwarts. Imagine his surprise at seeing the change of his cousin. 

Harry was currently upstairs in his bedroom with Sirius sitting on one of the chairs beside his bed. He was doing his homework for a lack of a better thing to do. Plus, he was interested in his homework, which was preposterous because he didn't like Potions class. Although, he found it quite interesting when he understood the material, and when Snape wasn't breathing on his neck all the time. Seriously, what did he ever do that guy-

'Harry, I'm bored." Whined Sirius from where he was sitting. 

"Go play outside like a dog, or something." Answered Harry, without looking up from his homework. Perhaps Hermione had rubbed off of on him a little. 

"Ugh, I don't wanna. Let's go out and do something fun." Harry didn't know what it was about today that he just didn't want to go outside. He just wanted to stay inside and do nothing. Or well, do interesting homework. He'd leave the boring bits of it for the last minute, probably. Okay, so maybe Hermione hadn't rubbed off on him too much after all. 

"Not right now, Dogfather. How about you call up Uncle Moony and hang out for a bit? Its been a while since you two have been alone." Harry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.  
Sirius blushed a little. 

"Yeah, that sounds good. Can you call him for me? I cant use the telephone in my animagus form." Harry got up followed by Padfoot. Padfoot was what Harry called Sirius when he was in his animagus form. 

"What do you think you are doing, boy?!" Called Uncle Vernon as Harry picked up the telephone. 

"I'm using the telephone." He replied calmly. 

'I don't think so! You don't pay the phone bill in this house! You're probably about to call you freak friends from that freak school of yours!" Vernon yelled, spit flying out of his mouth onto Harry's face. Ugh. Padfoot growled low in his throat, and Vernon glanced at him. 

"Don't take too long, or I'll disconnect you from the phone!" He stomped his way out of the room like some sort of overgrown child. A very, very overgrown child. 

"Good boy, Pads." He told Sirius before typing the number Remus had given him.

"Hullo?" Remus answered.

"Hullo, Uncle Moony."

"Oh Harry! What's going on?n Is everything alright? How's summer been treating you? You holding up alright?" Harry rolled his eyes. Ever the doting mother figure in his life, despite being a man. His Moomy, if you will. Harry snickered. 

"Yes, everything is alright. I was just calling to see if Padfoot could stay a couple of days? He misses you. Don't look at me like that, Pads, yes a couple of days. You haven't seen each other in well over a month." 

'Well, if he wants to, I don't oppose it."

"Of course you don't. Use protection."

"Harry, you little-"

"Bye, love you!" He hung up. 

"Alright Pads, go get your man." Padfoot glared at him before bolting out the door, and Harry couldn't help but laugh. 

Of course, the Dursleys, being Petunia and Vernon, had noticed the dog wasn't around to protect Harry, so that meant Harry was back to cooking and cleaning for a couple of days. This always happened when Padfoot left for Remus'. He never told Padfoot because he knew that if he did, he wouldn't leave to be with his boyfriend anymore.

Too engrossed in his thoughts, Harry didn't notice the leg of a chair that was in his way, causing him to drop the three plates he was holding. Upon hearing the large crash, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley made their way to the kitchen.

"BOY!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, and Harry knew what was coming. Nevertheless, he tried to explain himself.

"I-It was an accident, the- the chair-" Harry didn't get to finish the sentence before he was slapped across the face. His uncle raised his fist for a punch, and Harry clenched his eyes shut. awaiting the blow. 

But it never came. Harry's eyes flew open only to reveal that Dudley was holding his father's fist in his hand. 

"Dudley? What are you doing?" Vernon spluttered. 

"What the bloody hell does it look like I'm doing?" Dudley spat.

"B-But why would you defend him? He's nothing more than a freak!" Harry couldn't see Dudley's face, but he could see him shaking his head. 

"He's not a freak. He's just different than us, and that's okay. What is NOT okay, is you doing this. Hitting him for something that wasn't even his fault. For something as stupid as broken plates. They're not even the nice china plates, Dad." He dropped his father's fist and turned to face Harry, holding out his hand for Harry to take. Harry took it hesitantly, and Dudley helped him up. 

'Go upstairs to your room, okay? I'll deal with this." Harry didn't need to be told twice. 

However as he locked the door to his room, he couldn't help but think to himself 'what just happened?'


	2. Awkward Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dudley and Harry get to chat after 'the incident.'

Harry was shaking on his bed, trying to calm his hyperventilating breaths. 'A panic attack.' He recognized somewhere deep in the back of his mind that that is what was happening.

He hadn't known the term back when he started school at Hogwarts. He just vaguely remembered having one as a tiny eleven-year-old boy, whilst Hermione tried to help and cried with him, knowing what was happening. As always, she had been the one to explain what it was, and ways to prevent it from escalating if he felt one coming on. 

He tried to go back to that particular conversation, as he always did when he was having an episode, trying to remember the comforting and helpful words Hermione had spoken to him.

"Always remember to try and calm your breathing, Harry." Harry shook his head, still shaking.

"How will that help, 'Mione?" Hermione gave him a calm smile.

"I could explain all the science you undoubtedly don't care to know, or you could take my word for it." And she had been right. He hadn't wanted to know.

"How do I do that, though? The air just seems to get thinner around me." Harry hadn't been lying. When he had a panic attack, he felt as if the air around him just wasn't enough for his lungs. It was as if he was climbing the highest mountain in the world without an air tank, and the air progressively got thinner and thinner the higher he went. 

"Remember that the air isn't getting thinner. Try not to hyperventilate-"

"What's that?" 

"Its when you breathe very fast."

"Why is that so bad? Shouldn't that help me get more air into my lungs?" Hermione shook her head.

'No, Harry. Healthy breathing, so to speak, happens with a balance of oxygen going into your body and carbon dioxide leaving it. By hyperventilating, you are upsetting this balance by exhaling more than you inhale." Harry remembered wondering in amazement how it was Hermione Granger knew everything. Of course, he still wondered that, it just no longer surprised him. 

"Okay, then, how do I stop myself from hyper-er. From breathing too fast?" 

"Well, there are many different methods. The most common one is counting. Count until four as you breathe in, and four as you breathe out. Try it right now." Harry did and was surprised to see that even though he hadn't been hyperventilating, it still helped to calm him down. 

"Better, right?" Hermione smiled smugly.

"Yes. Thank you, Hermione. You're amazing!"

Harry couldn't help but remember the conversation with fondness. It was hard for him to remember how to calm himself down, and how to breathe properly, but he went back to that conversation when he needed it. The memory not only served to remind him how to calm himself but it also gave him a distraction of the destructive thoughts in his mind. This particular memory was important to Harry. After all, it had been the first time Harry had a friend, or anyone really, talk him through an episode. 

A knock startled Harry out of his reverie. Panic surged through him once again. Was it Vernon? Had he come back to finish what he had started? Had Dudley not been able to stop him? Was Dudley alright? Surely Uncle Vernon wouldn't hit his son, right? 

'Harry, you're being ridiculous, Uncle Vernon would try to break down the door, he wouldn't just knock.' Harry got up to open it.

'Unless he was tricking you.' He stopped in his tracks. 'Nah, he's not smart enough to try that.'

Harry unlocked the door and was surprised to find Dudley behind it.

"Dudley." He said. 

"Hey. I just wanted to check up on you, ya know? See how you were doing. He got you pretty good on that first slap." Dudley rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, not meeting his gaze.

"Oh, um. I haven't, uh, checked yet." This was undoubtedly one of the most awkward conversations he'd ever had, and he's had 'The TalkTM' with Sirius. 

"Let me see." He told Harry, finally meeting his gaze. Harry turned his head and found that his cheek did indeed feel sore, almost like a dull sort of throb. He hadn't thought much of it at the moment. He was...otherwise preoccupied. 

"Ah, jeez, dude. You should put ice on that." He cringed.

"That bad?" Harry gave a small smile, despite the throb of his cheek.

"Well, it depends on your definition of bad. If by bad you mean rapidly turning purple, and oh God, is that yellow? Then, yes, absolutely bad." He frowned. 

"It's okay. I've had worse." Harry had meant it as some sort of comfort, but his words only deepened the frown on Dudley's face.

"I know." He sighed. "I've been one of the people to put bruises on you too." He looked down at the floor with guilt, and Harry just didn't know what to do for a second.

"Do you want to come in?" He asked, after only a moment's hesitation. Dudley hesitated too, before nodding.

'Yeah, but just let me go get something real quick." He went down the stairs and Harry sat on his bed, waiting for his cousin.

"Okay, here." An ice pack. Harry couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face, despite the fact that he definitely tried. His face was really starting to hurt, now. 

"Thank you." 

"Yeah. um, no problem." Once again, the atmosphere had turned awkward.

"You can sit down, you know? If you want to, that is." Harry offered. Anything to get rid of this awkward tension. He'd never actually had a conversation with his cousin, and although not entirely unpleasant, it was definitely unfamiliar.

"Oh, uh yeah." He went and sat down on the chair that Sirius was sitting at before he left for Remus' place. 

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but I just want to say that for all those times that I was the one who hurt you, or insulted you, I'm really sorry. You didn't, still don't, and more than likely never will deserve that." Harry was stunned for what felt like the millionth time. He knew that Dudley had changed a lot during these years, but he'd never expected a whole 180-degree shift on his personality. 

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. You used to be one of the main villains in my story. The first eleven years of my life are plagued by memories of you and your family just being awful to me. And you kept being awful to me until I was thirteen. I can't forget that." Dudley nodded in understanding, although his eyes seemed downcast. However, Harry wasn't done just yet.

"But, when I went to Hogwarts, that changed. Not only because I found people that cared about me, but also because I found people that hated me a hell of a lot more than even Uncle Vernon did. After that, you were just minor inconveniences during my summer. So, I guess what I'm getting at is that it's been a while since you were the villain of my story. It's easier for me to forgive you. So let just let bygones be bygones." He got up and held his hand up in an offer of friendship, much like a certain blonde had so many years ago. Harry quickly pushed the thought away. He tended to get a little...carried away when speaking or thinking about...him, according to Ron and Hermione, anyway. Harry thought it was fine, thank you very much. Dudley got up too and shook his hand. They grinned at each other, which Harry quickly stopped because ow, his cheek, but the sentiment was there.

Maybe he could find a friend in his cousin. Another ally in the place that was supposed to be his home but never had been. Perhaps it would be like it was always meant to. He'd heard Ron talk about his cousins like they were a second set of siblings, and apparently everyone just had a favorite cousin they liked to see at family parties and whatnot. Even Hermione had talked about having a cousin she treasured. Someone who was disconnected in your life outside of familiar affairs, but was still important in your life because they had known you for so long. Maybe, just maybe, Dudley could be that for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so once again, this isn't the longest, or the most interesting chapter, but hey, at least I updated? *laughs nervously*   
> I'm not very good at the whole 'actually writing the things that are in my head' bit of being an author. I just kinda sit there and imagine where the fic is going to go instead of sitting down and writing it out. Also, I've been binge-watching Jacksepticeye and Game Grumps. Don't judge me, I'm trying, okay? Anyway, I'll see you in the next update, which is hopefully not too far off in the future. I'll see you later, darlings. Ta-ta! ;)


	3. Harry Has a Brother Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dudley and Harry get closer.

"Dudley, dude, why are you like this?" Harry sighed. It's been two days since the whole 'incident' happened (yes, the incident is what Harry has taken to calling it). Dudley had stuck to him like glue because Sirius wasn't back yet. If he were to be left alone, Vernon would probably kill him for "corrupting his sweet Diddikins." The first time he had said that Harry nearly pissed himself laughing at hearing a fully grown man talk to his almost fully grown son like he was a puppy. The only thing that saved him from another 'incident,' was that Dudley had laughed to, with a "What the fuck, Dad? You doin' okay?"

"Um, I think it has to do with being dropped on my head a few too many times," Dudley says from the tree he's hanging upside down from. 

"Are you sure you were dropped? Or did you just fall headfirst from a few too many trees?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. These past two days that they'd been hanging out so much they had become pretty close, which was surprising, to say the least. Harry handy expected that Dudley would be so fun to hang around, and despite the fact he wanted to, he hadn't expected he'd be able to forget the first thirteen years of the torment Dudley put him through so easily, but he had. It was easy, somehow. 

"Nah, I was too fat to get on trees. However, I had also been too fat to be held. Mum tried anyway, hence why have such a deformed head." Dudley responded, swinging back and forth from the branch.

"You don't have a deformed head." Harry laughed. He couldn't deny that Dudley had been particularly overweight. Dudley gave him a deadpan look from where he was swinging.

"Harry, I could pass for one of the aliens from Star Wars." Harry laughed harder. Dudley grinned. "It's okay, I'm hella ugly, but ya know what? I still like myself. I don't have to be cute to be good. That's the real reason I turned it around. Was it because it was the right to do? Heh, no. Imagine being ugly AND an arsehole? No girl would look at me." Dudley looked at Harry seriously and Harry was still laughing.

"All you have is being a good person, then?" Harry's cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling 

"Well, I have abs." This sent Harry into another fit of laughter. 

"Aren't girls also into funny dudes?" Harry asked. "You're pretty funny."

"I love it that you think I know anything about girls." 

"Don't you?"

"I'm sorry, did I give you that impression? I don't even like girls. Or boys. Or anyone for that matter. Not in that way." 

"Really? I thought you were a ladies man." Dudley snorted.

"My asexual ass could never." 

"There's a term for that?" Harry had never known that. He only knew 'gay,' 'lesbian,' and 'transgender.'

"Um, yeah? There's a term for everything nowadays. What do you even learn in Wizard School?" Dudley rolled his eyes before getting off the beach. He stumbled a little and sat where Harry was sitting on the ground. "If I hadn't gotten off of there I think my head might have fallen off."

"They don't teach us about that. Do they teach you?" 

"Hell no. The teachers would rather cut off their tongues. But there are things you learn in school that you don't learn from teachers." Harry thought about his own school experiences and decided that, yeah, that was true enough. 

"I've never heard of that term before, though," Harry said thoughtfully. 

"Yeah, most people haven't. It's like this big taboo thing, for some reason. To not be normal, I mean. That's how I realized that what I was doing to you was wrong. That just because you weren't what I considered 'normal' didn't mean you deserved to be mistreated for it. I realized that I wasn't what everyone considered 'normal,' either. That when other boys talked about how big a girl's breasts were, I didn't feel anything. Then I thought, 'oh my god, am I gay?' But when I thought about boys that way I didn't feel anything either. I thought there was something wrong with me. But I heard some kid talking about aromantic and asexual people so I asked them what it meant." Dudley smiled a little sadly. 

"What did they say?" Harry had a basic idea of what it was because of what Dudley said before, but he hadn't heard 'aromantic' before. 

"They were startled someone had heard them, but once they realized I wasn't gonna judge them for talking about it, they explained it to me. They said that 'asexual' was when a person didn't feel sexual attraction for other people and that 'aromantic' was when a person didn't feel a romantic attraction to other people." 

"Do they go hand in hand?" Dudley shook his head.

"Not necessarily. You can like a person and want to date them, but not want to sleep with them. Or it could be the other way around. Or maybe you just want to be friends with that person." Dudley shrugged.

"So are you aromantic?" Dudley thought for a second.

"I don't think so. I think I did have a crush on a girl at one point, but I didn't feel the other things boys described when they liked a girl, so I didn't think I did. Now thinking back on it, I think it was a crush. I don't know for sure, though. But it's okay. I'm young, I have time to figure that shit out." Dudley shrugged.

"Yeah, we're still young and stupid." Harry agreed.

"Speak for yourself." Harry shoved him, and they laughed.

It was different, the bond he had developed with Dudley than the one he had with Ron. Ron and he couldn't talk about things like this. It would be awkward. It is true what they say, that blood doesn't make a family, but it couldn't be denied that the bonds that you have with your family aren't the same as the one you have with your friends. Harry never thought he'd know the difference, but here he was, experiencing it.

Perhaps it was that even though Dudley and he hadn't ever gotten along before, they had still known each other for their whole lives. They HAD been like siblings, just siblings that didn't get along, but now do. They DID grow up together, they had just hated each other. But that still doesn't change the fact that they knew each other pretty well before Harry went to Hogwarts. The same went for Vernon and Petunia. They didn't like each other, but that didn't change the fact that they were family, because the truth was that the wounds they had given Harry were only able to be done by his family. They had hurt him too much to be anything else. No one could hurt him as they did. Not even Voldemort. 

Harry thought that the whole 'growing up together' thing had to do with it, but he couldn't help but feel that it was also because Dudley had his blood. He had someone who was blood-related that liked him. That had never happened before. And it feels different from Ron, or Hermione. He does think of them as siblings, but Harry had lived with Dudley his whole life. He knew what it was to have blood-related relatives, just not ones that liked him, and now he understood. 

He understood what it was like for Ron and his siblings.

A few hours later Harry had the urge to ask. They were in his room on his bed, as Dudley read a comic book of some superhero, and Harry finished his transfiguration homework. If he didn't have that done correctly McGonagall might just actually turn him into a stopwatch so he could 'manage his time better.'

"Hey, Dudley? Can I ask what could potentially be an awkward question?" Dudley looked at him for a second before shrugging. 

"I mean, we had a whole conversation a couple of hours back about my sexuality, or well, my lack of one, so you know? Why not?" Harry steeled himself. He didn't know why he was asking. He supposed he was curious to see if he was the only one with such thoughts. 

"Do you consider me a sibling? Like a brother I mean?" Dudley looked at him shocked and thought for a little while before answering. 

"That isn't what I thought you were gonna say but now that you ask, I guess, that yeah. I could see that. I mean, we did grow up together and all. Well, we hated each other, but that's beside the point. There was definitely a difference in my life after you went to Hogwarts. You might have thought that you weren't the center of attention here at home, but you did take a lot of it. Almost everything my parents did for me was done specifically to torment you. Once you were gone, they didn't buy me presents or even talk to me much. I started getting yelled at for my wrongdoings more often, and even got hit too for stupid shit." Dudley paused for a second, as of contemplating whether he should continue. In the end, he did. 

"That's part of why I let my dad keep...hurting you, even after I realized it was wrong. I was stuck with this mentality that 'if he's hitting him he's not hitting me.' And I know that's fucked up, but that was the only escape I had from that. My parents only loved me when they knew it would hurt you. Otherwise, I was unimportant, and even a nuisance, in their lives." Dudley looked sad, and this, in turn, made Harry sad. 

"Well, we can both relate to your mum and dad being arseholes, then." Dudley gave a watery laugh.

"See? We're like siblings." Dudley said, and Harry smiled. 

"Yeah, we are." Harry had his very own brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, not a terribly long chapter. I'M SORRY, OKAY? I'm not good at this, lmao. I like this chapter overall. I think this is the first chapter I'm the happiest with, despite the fact that I think it's also the shortest (I wonder if there's any correlation to that). Anyway, yes, I made Dudley ace, and it wasn't planned at all. That was spontaneous as hell, and I don't know what possessed me to do it, but it happened. I hope you like it though. I'll see you in the next update, which I hope is also soon. At the very most five days in between, lol.


	4. Sirius Black is Siriusly Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ! Hey all! I know its be a hot minute since I last updated, and I sincerely apologize for it. If you've read my bio on this profile than you already know these two things about me. Numero Uno: I am absolute shit at updating. Like actual stinky, moldy, crusty, old shit at updating. I don't have an uploading schedule, and I'm just always all over the place. Numero Dos: I am Puerto Rican. The reason that this has any relevancy at all is that I was at Puerto Rico for these last two months because of a family emergency (don't worry, it's taken care of now), and i didn't bring my computer because I'm a fuckass (the ghetto way of saying i completely forgot). I didn't have access to a computer either (big sad boi hours). Anyway, those are my excuses for being a lazy shit. I hope you understand and I also hope you enjoy this chapter, which I tried to make super long because of the long wait (super long for my standards, anyway.)

Harry's feet pounded on the pavement as he jogged beside Dudley, his breath leaving him in staggering gasps. He was also taking gulping heaps of air that distantly reminded him of hyperventilating, except there was a distinct burning in his lungs put there by physical exertion that definitely wasn't there when he was having a panic or an anxiety attack. He almost preferred them. At least he didn't have to RUN when he was having a panic attack! He could not BELIEVE he let Dudley convince him this was a good idea AGAIN. 

When he first suggested it three days ago he couldn't help but think that it was good idea. He was a Quidditch a player, after all. It wouldn't hurt to get some workouts in before school started up again. It also helped that this meant getting out of the house more often. The hostile tension mixed with awkward silences were stifling. When he and Dudley were alone, it was much easier to breathe, but he was wrong because these stupid workouts DID hurt and they most definitely DID NOT make it easier to breathe if the lightheaded sensation he was currently experiencing was anything to go by. 

This had happened on the first day too, and the second, and somehow Dudley had convince to put himself through it yet again. Harry swore Dudley was secretly a wizard that had used the Confundus Charm on him to get it to do it again. There was no other possible explanation. There just wasn't.

"So, Harry, where the hell is that dog of yours?" Dudley asked from beside him, sounding like he was just taking a nice midday stroll, the bastard. 

"With his boyfriend." Harry said without really thinking about it. He was currently more focused on trying not to pass out than keeping the Statute of Secrecy, because priorities, thank you very much.

"Your dog has a boyfriend?" 

"Yeah."

'What the fuck? Why is your dog getting it on more than I am?"

"Because you're an ugly motherfucker that does things like making people run." Dudley stopped to laugh at that. 'Oh thank God, or Merlin, or whatever deity there is out there that gave me this small mercy.' 

"Really now? What other things make me undesirable in your opinion?" Dudley looked nothing but amused as Harry sunk to the grass and laid there heaving.

"That you think this is FUN." This sent Dudley into another round of laughter.

After a few more minutes of much needed rest (and water, copious amounts of it), they make their way back to the house, walking this time ('Thank Fuck.' Harry decided he liked that a lot more).

"You are NOT dragging me to do this again tomorrow." Dudley just shrugs.

"We'll see." And Harry once again seriously considers his theory that Dudley is secretly a wizard using magic on him to get him to do those absolutely fucking dreadful runs. 

"PADS!" Harry screeches as soon as he catches sight of the dog laying outside of the front door. The dog pounces on him, licking his face with what Harry thought was way too much slobber. "Ew, Pads, you dirty bastard, ger'off me." He laughed, whilst pushing him off. However, once Pads caught sight of Dudley he started growl, jumping in front of Harry protectively. Dudley put his hands up in surrender. 

"Whoa there. What you growling at me for? I'm just hanging." 

"Padfoot, Dudley's fine. He's not gonna hurt me." Padfoot gave Harry a incredulous look, whilst Harry gave him a pointed one. In the end, he backed off, but not before giving Dudley the stink eye.

"Man, sometimes I swear your dog is human." 

"Whaaat? Pffft. No Pads is just a normal dog just doing normal... dog things." He gave what was obviously a nervous laugh, and Dudley gave him a weird look though he was smiling. He looked to Padfoot, who was giving him a look that clearly said "Seriously?" Had he been in his human form, Harry was sure he would have face palmed. 

"Dudley!" Aunt Petunia screamed as soon as he got in the house. "Where have you been? Where you with this- this filth?" Padfoot growled, getting in front of Dudley. Harry was surprised. Padfoot was...protecting Dudley? Though Dudley didn't seem to notice. He just sighed. "Oh, your mutt's back." Petunia said, disgusted.

"We had this conversation yesterday, and the day before that."

"Well, I don't understand why you would want to hang out with him!"

"And I don't understand why your all up in my business. And he's better company than you, at least." He started walking up the stairs with Harry trailing behind him. 

"How dare you?!"

"No, how dare you?" He whirled around and walked past Harry back down to the foot of the stairs. "You're the one that's being unnecessarily rude, and melodramatic."

"Well, I just don''t think you should hang out with him. He's a bad influence!"

"Good thing I give exactly zero fucks about your opinion." He started to walk back up the stairs to where Harry was.

"See? Look at how he's got you talking to me. You used to never talk to me like that. You used to respect me!" Dudley stopped, but didn't turn around. His head was down, and he was glaring at the floor in front of Harry.

"Don't lie to yourself, Mum. I never treated you with an ounce of respect, not only because you spoiled me rotten, but also because you didn't deserve it, and you still don't." He turned his head back to look at her. Petunia looked shell-shocked. "You want my respect? Then earn it." And he walked past Harry up the stairs with a quiet " 'Scuse me." Padfoot stared worriedly behind Dudley. Harry motioned with his head to go follow him. He could distantly hear the scratching of Padfoot's nails against Dudley's door, and Dudley opening it, letting Pads in, and closing it again. He'd be there soon to help Padfoot make Dudley feel better, but not before getting him some milk and cookies. Dudley deserved a cheat day after THAT interaction. 

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Aunt Petunia screeched once more as he made his way to the kitchen, blocking the entrance. This was honestly getting old. 

"I'm getting Dudley's comfort food."

"You-you know what his comfort is?" 

"Yeah milk and cookies. So are you gonna let me get it?" Petunia looked at him for a second before wordlessly getting out of his way and going to the leaving room, letting Harry get the snacks. 

He made his way over to Dudley's room and knocked on his door. He heard the soft "come in," and the sight that greeted him was of Dudley sitting on his bed with Padfoot's head on his thigh, Dudley softly petting him. 

"I come bearing gifts." Harry says in a soft, lilting voice. 

"Harry..."

"Yes, yes, I know you're on a diet, but you deserve a cheat day."

"I don't know..."

"Come on. You know you want to." Dudley looks at the plate of cookies and the glass of milk for another second before throwing his head back and sighing. 

"Give me the stupid fucking plate." Harry laughed and sat beside Dudley and shared the plate and the glass of milk. Padfoot wanted some too, but Dudley wouldn't let him because apparently chocolate and cow milk were bad for dogs. Harry was going to get an earful after this. 

"You know we're going to at least walk this off afterward right?" Dudley asked and Harry groaned.

"Never mind, I don't give a fuck if your sad, give me the cookies back." Dudley laughed, and for those brief moments, all was well.

And thus it became their new tradition. They would run every day, and if they came home to either Petunia or Vernon yelling, they would have a plate of cookies, and go for "Walkies" to avoid the Parents (TM), and to burn off the calories. They would also drag Padfoot along. 

It wasn't until the third week of their tradition that Sirius decided he was going to reveal himself, unbeknownst to Harry. 

"Come on, Pads, we're going for a Walkie!" Harry knocked on the door where Sirius was napping. Sirius groaned.

"Oh you're big lads, you can jog to the Tesco on your own." He said, and waited for the undoubtedly hilarious reactions. 

There was a hot moment of silence. 

'Harry, did Padfoot just talk?" Sirius heard Dudley ask through the door. 

"No?"

"Yes, I did!" Sirius very helpfully supplied.

"Harry." Wow Sirius thought Dudley really sounded like Hermione in that instance.

"He's a Magic Dog." Wait, fuck, Dudley would believe that.

"Actually, I'm a Magic Person that just so happens to be able to turn into a dog!" He yells again.

"Sirius!" Harry screams, and Sirius is c a c k l i n g. 

"Sirius? Wait, PERSON?" And Sirius is just fucking losing it. 

'This is it. This is the moment when I finally kill him. Sirius Black is no more. When I get my hands on him-' 

"Harry, what is going on?" Dudley interrupts his internal murderous thoughts that were no doubt going to turn into a murderous tirade. Harry sighed.

"I'll explain on the Walkie." He says, and then louder, "Which apparently Pads isn't going to."

"Nope!" He hears, muffled, from behind the door. 

"Bloody bastard."

"We really need to stop calling them Walkies. We sound like six year-olds." Dudley says, trying to lighten the mood despite the fact he no doubt wanted an explanation. 

"Fuck you, I AM a six year old." 

Once they were at the park where no kids played at anymore because the equipment was so old, Harry decided to turn the conversation back to serious ('heh, Sirius, nO Harry focus!').

"So you may want to sit down for this, or it'll be a REALLY long Walkie, and I rather tell this story more comfortably."

"Alright."

"I don't even know where to start." Harry put his head in his hands.

"Uh... the beginning?" Harry could recognize Dudley's attempt at lightening the mood and he appreciated it so much. Harry had discovered that Dudley could make light out of basically any situation. 

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" 

"I don't THINK I'm clever. I KNOW I am." He bumped his shoulder with Harry's and Harry gave a small laugh. 

And so he told his story. He first explained about Sirius and being an Animagi, but that just brought up more questions, so Harry basically told his life story from the age of 11 and up. If he thought that it was going to be a depressing story, boy was he wrong. Dudley didn't let it be. 

"What do you mean your dog is a 40-year-old-man?"

"What do you mean your Dad's BFF?"

"What do you mean convicted criminal? The fuck? Why?"

"What the fuck is a Moldy-wart?" Harry nearly pissed himself.

"It's Voldemort."

"That's not any better."

"What do you mean WIZARD HITLER WANTS YOU'RE HIDE?"

"I bet you twenty pounds i can spell "I show not your face but your heart's desire" backwards without pausing."

"How would I know you're saying it right though?"

"Here's a piece of paper, write it as i say it. E-R-I-S-E-D-S-T-R-A-E-H-R-U-O-Y-T-C-A-F-R-U-O-Y-T-W-O-H-S-I"

"...Fuck, I don't have twenty pounds. Here, have a Galleon instead."

"IS THAT SOLID GOLD?"

"HE WAS STICKING OUT OF THE BACK OF HIS HEAD?"

"Haha, giant snake go brr." Harry didn't even know what the fuck that meant but he found it funny anyway.

"I really ship Rita Skeeter with a Dementor. I can't wait for their first kiss!"

"HERMIONE IS SUCH A BADASS OH MY GOD. IN A JAR FOR A YEAR? Q U E E N."

"Never mind, I ship Umbitch x Dementor more."

All in all, Harry actually had a lot of fun telling this story, which he didn't think was possible.

"So yeah. That's my life. I wonder what Voldemort has in store for me this year."

"...Shit. I gotta up my workout routine."

"You're not gonna punch Voldemort out, Dudley."

"Not with these wimpy biceps, I wont." And Harry laughed, but secretly, selfishly, he hoped Dudley would be far, far away somewhere when the inevitable war happened. He was Harry's last blood relative. Harry's basically brother. He wouldn't lose the only blood relative he liked left. Dudley had his mother's blood in him. Dudley was his brother, and if he couldn't protect the rest of his family (Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, the rest of the Weasleys) because they would refuse to hide, then at least he could protect Dudley. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Harry snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm just glad we're close now."

"Yeah, me too. Now lets go! I wanna know what Sirius looks like, and what he's like." And they raced back. 

Of course, Dudley won, and rubbed it in. "In your face, loser! I am victorious! BOW DOWN TO ME PEASANT." And in his laughter, Harry could forget about his worries. If only for now, life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm pretty sure it's longer than the last three. or maybe I'm just tripping. I'l see you in the next update, which hopefully doesn't take me another fucking life time. And PLEASE if you can, and want to, comment. I L O V E knowing what your thoughts are or if you enjoyed the chapter. It makes me feel all warm inside.


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